The latest animation movie for kids proves to have a strong green conscience.

Showing at local cinemas now!

If you've never read the book by Dr Seuss - complete with it's fun rhymes and zaney humour - you can now watch The Lorax on big screen! With incredible animation effects by Illumination Entertainment (the guys who brought us Despicable Me) and voices from the likes of Danny DeVito and Zac Efron, you will find yourself touched by the simple story that shows how greed can lead to the demise of nature.

The Lorax himself is a bizarre little creature with a large yellow moustache who claims to 'speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues' - cute or what?

Last year we planted 1324 trees at the Greenpop Reforest Fest and this year, we're hoping for more. Come and be part of this awesome event!

The Platbos forest is an ancient South African forest jewel and we need to protect it. Over the past decades it has been deforested for agriculture and now is under threat of fire as alien vegetation has taken over substantially. Platbos reforestation project aims to ultimately grow the forest back to its original size and splendor.

Greenpop’s Trees for Zambia project in July will see over 5000 indigenous and fruit trees planted in and around Livingstone by school children, farmers, local businesses and volunteers. The trees are being grown at the Zambezi Nkuku nursery in Livingstone and others... but where do the funds come from for Greenpop to buy the trees, compost and other inputs?

Meeting with Patrick Dowling, family friend and WESSA environmental educator, we discuss a more perfect world and a positive way out of our current economic and environmental dysfunction...

Patrick Dowling (pictured here doing some planting) believes that a Steady State Economy is now the way to go

Ok so we get that we are stuffed - with the economy doing a double dive and the planet protesting years of misuse - so now what? If economists have been questioning the idea of perpetual growth for centuries, how have we allowed ourselves to walk headlong into this mess? Surely this is a good a sign as any that we must make changes to our system, but the real question is, how?

Patrick believes that a Steady State System could just be the answer to our current situation.

One Struggle – a conference on social justice, animal rights and radical environmentalism - took place in Muizenberg last Saturday (18 Feb) thanks to the South African Vegan Society.

The conference focused on the rights of animals, the environment and human beings.

Hearing about the One Struggle conference, I was immediately excited; the South African Vegan Society represent a genuine passion for true authentic societal change, and I knew this would be reflected in any event they organised.

When we arrived in the afternoon, Jodi Allemeier was busy giving her talk on veganism and food security in Cape Town: explaining how being vegan is better not only for animals, but for people and the earth too. The young lady really sounded like she knew her stuff, and displayed all the facts to back up her statements.

‘We may be making attempts to save water in our home due to turning off taps and showering instead of bathing, but when 85% of our water waste is on our plate it is important that we re-evaluate our diet. And this is not mere theory – the U.N. have been urging people to eat local and plant-based for years,' she explained, adding: 'But it is not just our diet that must change, but the production system of our diet.’

Wynberg Haven Shelter's dusty yard seemed empty save for a handful of the loitering residents smoking cigarettes, playing with an old exercise bike or just staring blankly into space. The huge trees danced restlessly as we greeted a certain Michael Valentine.

At the end of last year, Scan Display and Interactive Africa pulled out all the stops to put together the South African Climate Change Response Expo (CCR Expo) on behalf of the Department of Environmental Affairs. In 4 weeks they essentially transformed a parking lot into a worldclass exhibition destination, and implemented some cool green intiativse to boot. Perhaps other green event organisers can pick up some useful ideas?

COP 17

The CCR Expo ran alongside the biggest conference Durban has ever hosted, COP17, which attracted in the region of 15 000 international delegates and visitors including support staff, media and those attending side events. While COP17 was a fairly exclusive event, the CCR Expo was a space

The more I see how much DIY has become a worldwide trend in recent years - due to lack of money and a growing green conscience - the more I am beginning to believe that the recession has helped to trigger society back into a place of creativity and self-sufficiency.

From the Facebook group ReUseConnection

From making your own cushion covers to creating furniture from the wood of used Christmas trees, innovative creations have been springing up everywhere. And you have only to look to the internet or your own mind for ideas.

City Sightseeing Cape Town, the company that operates the well-known red double decker open-top buses has become the first bus company in South Africa to be certified carbon neutral.

City Sightseeing operate a fleet of continually upgraded, low emission buses that comply with all Euro standards for environmental impact. The fleet has consistently complied with Euro standards since 2006.

City Sightseeing has also made great inroads into greening the rest of the business and has adopted all the latest available methodology and technology to reduce noise pollution as well as energy and water consumption. The company also recycles all of their waste, which has in turn led to the creation of sustainable employment.

As Eskom keeps raising the price of our local electricity, more of us are seeking new, greener and cleaner, independent sources of power. Not only can 'off-the-grid' power save us (a lot of) money, it is also more kind to our environment than the coal-hungry power of Eskom. Although often more expensive upfront, green and localised sources of electricity always pay themselves off… and once that’s done, guess what? You’ve got free power!